thewordslinger 's review for:

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

3.5

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I've been itching for a good fantasy book that's not set in Medieval Europe--and when I stumbled upon this not only did the atmosphere sound stunning and entirely underrepresented, the plot captured me immediately. 

The story itself had some ups and downs for me, however. So here's a few of my thoughts:

The mental illness rep is great. Especially on Malik's end. I even appreciated how

in the end he wields his anxiety as a weapon against Idir--I don't think this is the most believable description or use of anxiety but in a fantasy setting I could go with it

. 

Karina's migraines were a little less believable for me--not that she wasn't having head pain, but that they were <i>migraines</i>. As a chronic sufferer, the way her pain was triggered and wielded in this book definitely didn't scream 'migraine' to me. It seemed as though any sort of excitement or stress triggered the pain, but that it went away whenever she needed to jump into action--that's not how migraines work. I'm pretty sure that's not how any headache works...They don't come and go with the wind. 

I really enjoyed the take on African mythology, and the storytelling that goes on within this tale is both fascinating and captivating. The implementation of the mythical figure of Hyena was probably my favorite part of the whole thing.

I enjoyed the twists and turns this tale took too, and how we have basically 2 separate-but-entwined plotlines going on at once where it becomes apparent quickly that our two MCs seem destined to kill each other. 

The pacing wasn't perfect, there were a lot of spots where things felt sluggish and mired in monotony, and the last 15-20% of the book rushed through in such a way it felt like I couldn't catch my breath. When the pace picks up so quickly it's difficult to keep a grasp of what exactly is going on and there were times I wasn't exactly sure what was happening and how (especially because there's a lot of magic being used suddenly out in the open).

The magic system was interesting, but sort of confusing and not really fleshed out enough--though I'm really hoping this is a big plot point going into book two and that issue will be resolved.

The competition was a fun addition to the festival, and it seemed like it was supposed to be a huge part of the whole ordeal, but we see so little of it compared to everything else that it felt like an underutilized plot device more than an organic and necessary part of the story.

Probably the biggest part of this story that I disliked was the romance. I really wasn't convinced about the romance between Malik and Karina. Malik read really young to me (We aren't ever told how old he is, I don't think, so I can only guess he's around 17--the same age as Karina). But his utter lack of experience with... well... anything... made him come across as a younger teen which really made the sentimental moments he shares with Karina feel more awkward than organic. The relationship between Karina and Tunde was leagues more mature and even felt more natural in the brief glimpses we got of it. Mostly the forced proximity didn't really feel like enough to generate the 'connection' the two seemed to feel for each other. There was nothing really to draw them together in any real concrete way.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read, despite its faults, and the ending has ensured that I pick up book 2.

3.5 stars rounded up.